Retort apparatus.



E. FINK.

RETORT APPARATUS.

APPLlcATloN FILED MAY9,1914.

Patented J an. 23, 1917 wwmvm frz/061017071' .4 g I attorneys.

Wit-1066566! wm @uw SZ f1 UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE.

EDWARD FINK, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO I-IALIECK W. SEAMAN, 0F CLINTON, IOWA.

RETORT APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedJan. 23, 1917.

Application mea may 9, 1914. serial No. 837,386.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD FINK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of IVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Retort Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part thereof.

This invention relates to retort apparatus for metallurgical operations and the objects of the invention are to improve retort apparatus in the manner to be hereinafter described and 'claimed Referring to the drawings which accom- Apany this specification and form a part hereof, on which drawings the same reference characters are used to designate the same parts wherever they appear in each of the views, and which drawings illustrate an embodiment of this invention, Figure 1 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional View of a metallurgical furnace taken on the line af-a on Fig. 2; and Fig. 2 is a horizontal, sectional view of the furnace taken on the line b-b on Fig. 1.

Referring ,to the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designatesa furnace structure providing a combustion chamber 2 Within which are located the retorts 3, 4, 5 and 6.

The furnace structure and its combustion chamber may be of any convenient and suitable size and may contain one retort or a plurality of retorts. I have illustrated four retorts simply as a matter of convenience in describing this invention and I have illustrated a furnace arranged to reduce zinc oxid to metallic zinc and shall describe the operation of reducing zinc oXid but by such illustration and description I do not intend to limit this invention to the treatment or reduction of zinc oxid as it will be readily understood that the retort apparatus illustrated and described can be used for reducing other metalliferous materials.

The retorts 3, 4, 5 and 6 are long, high and narrow and their length and height is limited only by the flame zone of the heating agentvemployed. If a coal fire is used the flame zone of combustion, with grates only at the front of the furnace, will be considerably less than when gas, oil or powdered fuel is used.l I have illustrated burners 7,

8, 9, 10 and 11, conventionally, through which gas, oil or powdered fuel may be supplied to the combustion chamber. For general use the retorts may have a length of sixteen feet and a height of eight feet but these dimensions may be increased or decreased to suit special'operating conditions, as the only point to be guarded against is making the retorts so long or so high that they cannot be heated to the necessary temperature. I prefer that the interior Width of the retorts shall not exceed eight inches, the object being to have the retorts as narrow as possible while lallowing plenty of space for the material under treatment'and for the escape of the gases and vapors generated. The retorts should beconstructed of highly refractory material which has great heat conducting capacity `and preferably are built up with suitable brick .such as carborundum, magnesite, chrome or other suitable fire brick. If only one retort were set in a combustion chamber, approximately half of the heat would be wasted by heating the walls of the combustion chamber, so I prefer to place a plurality of retorts in a combustion chamber spaced apart so that flues are formed between them whereby the retorts receive most of the heat. I also prefer that the tops of the retorts be spaced from the top of the combustion chamber so that they will be more thoroughly heated and the bottoms of the retorts may be eX. posed to vthe heat also but the bottom., areas of the retorts are so small that they can be built on a fsolid foundatiomas illustrated by the drawings, ciency and such a construction is conducive without impairing' their eiiito rigidity and long service. The bottoms of the retorts may be inclined toward one end and temporary, removable brick work 12 used to close an aperture affording access to the interior of each retort, an aperture in the furnace structure being also closed by temporary, removable brick Work 13.

The retorts are provided with feed pipes 14.-, 15, 16 and 17, which for zinc work and these pipes are'sealed by the ma- I `feed pipes by means of a hopper 18 and conveyer mechanism 19, illustrated by the drawings as an ordinary form of screw conveyer, a separate hopper and conveyer being provided for each feed pipe, as such a construction affords means for feeding material to the retorts 4either continuously or intermittently according to circumstances.

The iues between the retorts and between the side walls of the furnace and the adjacent retorts may be supplied with air to promote complete combustion by the ducts 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24. The air may be supplied by a blower 25 and the quantity regulated by dampers 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30. The waste products of combustion may be removed from the furnace in any suitable manner and I have illustrated two chimneys 31 and 32 provided with dampers 33 and 34 so that the hot products of combustion may be directed to one chimney or the other or equally or unequally divided between them whereby the uniformity of temperature within the furnace and combustion chamber can be more read'ly secured.

1 shall now proceed to escribe the special arrangements adopted for the lreduction of zinc.

Each retort is provided with a zincI condenser 85, 36, 87 and 88 with the ordinary collecting bowl 39 and ladle and gas aperture 40. 1 inclose the ends of the condensers in chambers 41, 42, 43 and 44 Which communicate with the combustion chamber 2 by flues 45 controlled by dampers 46, 47, 48 and 49. Access may be had to chambers 41, 42, 43 and 44 and to the condensers therein by means of doors 50, 51, 52 and 53 and products of combustion may escape through exit openings 54 which may be provided with removable covers 55. This construction enables me to control the temperature of each condenser and thereby secure the zinc in liquid form avoiding the formation of the so called blue powder.

Each retort is provided with a reduction chamber 5G located in the combustion chamber 2 and between the retort and the condenser connected therewith. I prefer to form these reduction chambers as a part of the retort structures by building an apertured wall 57 across the rear end of the retort. A charging pipe 58, 59, 60 and 61 communicates with each reduction chamber and these pipes are kept closed 'by covers 62. In reducing zinc oxid, the reduction chambers are charged to a point above the retorts and condensers with coke or charcoal and the object of these reduction chambers is to arrest all ne dust generated during the feeding of the retorts and to reduce any oxids which may volatilize before being reduced by the reducing material which is charged to the retorts mixed with the ore. These reduction chambers aid greatly in keeping the condensers free from dirt or dust, oxids, etc. and thereby facilitate the condensation of the zinc vapor.

To prevent loss and waste ofy zinc, the charging pipes 58, 59, G0 and 61 as well as the feed pipes 14, 15, 16 and 17 should be long enough to condense zinc vapor to prevent the escape of zinc when these pipes are purposely or accidentally opened to the atmosphere.

The use and operation of the apparatus is as follows. The hoppers 18 are filled with a mixture of zinc oxid and carbon (coke or charcoal) and the conveyers 19 fill the retorts; the retorts being heated sufficiently, he oxygen in the oxid unites with the carthe zinc distils over and condenses in the condensers from which it is ladled as frequently as necessary. The carbon monoxid formed by the reaction burns at the apertures 40 and, if necessary, the doors 50, 51, 52 and 53 may be opened and the covers 55 removed to supply air to support this combustion. If the temperature of a condenser falls below the temperature necessary for the condensation of the zinc, the damper controlling flue 45 may be opened to permit the hot products of combustion in combustion chamber 2 to enter the chamber in which the condenser is located to increase the temperature of the condenser. As the carbon (coke` for example) in the reduction chambers 56 is consumed, more carbon is supplied through the charging pipes. Thev hopper-s 1S are kept supplied with a mixture of the oxid or ore and carbon and, preferably, the conveyer 19 for each retort is run at such a speed that it will charge fresh materials as fast as the reduction anddistillation takes place, the retorts being kept filled and the temperature not being materially' reduced by the material fed.

It will be noticed that the retorts are formed With substantially rectangular outlines as this construction combines strength 110 with simplicity of construction and provides proper flue spaces between the retorts and between the retorts andthe sides of the combustion chamber. These retorts can be used for the reduction of other metals than zinc, 115 as lead, for example, in which case the condensers will, of course, be omitted.

The advantages of the apparatus over the apparatus and methods now in use are many. The distilling operation can be' conducted 120 continuously and with a great saving of fuel, labor and time as the retorts do not have to be cooled, dismantled and recharged as is the present practice. Four retorts of the sizes indicated as suitable for general use 125 will do the Work of three hundred or more of the retorts now in use for the reduction of zinc. The construction'is such that tight joints can be secured so that there will be no waste and loss of zinc by leakage. By con- 130 trolling the temperatures of the condensers liquid zinc is obtained and,;the bugbear of blue powder is eliminated.` The reduction chambers keep the retorts clean and free of dust and oxid.

lVhat is claimed is:

l. A long, high and narrow retort of substantially rectangular outlines, in combination with means for heating the same, a condenser in communication therewith, the retort being provided with an upright feed pipe for feeding material to the retort and condensing metallic vapor arising from the retort thereinto, and means in communication with the feed pipe adapted to hold material to seal the interior of the retort from the air.

2. The combination with a furnace provided with a combustion chamber, of a plurality of long, high and narrow retorts of substantially rectangular outlines located in said combustion chamber and spaced apart to form fines therebetween, each of said retorts being provided. with an upright feed pipe for feeding material to a retort and condensing metallic vapor arising from a retort thereinto, material holdin means in communication with the feed pipes to seal the interiors of the retorts from the air,and condensers in communication with the retorts.

l3. -The combination with a furnace provided with a combustion chamber, of a chamber adjacent thereto, a long, high and narrow retort in the combustion chamber, a condenser leading from said retort into the adjacent chamber and a flue for leading combustion products from the combustion chamber into the adjacent chamber for heating the condenser therein.

4. The combination with a combustionl l l EDWARD FINK. Witnesses i FRANK E. DENNETT,

CRAs. L. Goss.' 

